Where the light shines
by Nimphy-Ryuu-chan
Summary: He would have never thought being back home would be so painful. He knew the journey to Amestris would have had its toll, but never thought it would be this horrible.
1. Memories

**Woot! I wrote the first chapter, yay! This is a story about Ling's return to Xing - from his return, to his incoronation, to his reign, I'll write about everything. Hope you enjoy it!  
The inspiration for this plot, and the idea that Ling would still expect a comment from Greed after the latter's death, came from the story "Swallows on the beam" by Shu of the Wind. If you haven't read it yet, ****what are you waiting for?! Go and do it!**

**-Enjoy!-**

Ling stared at the desert, the fiery sun throwing its last glance at the world while slowly being enveloped by the high sand dunes that were the only thing separating him from Amestris.  
Amestris. He had traveled there for the Stone, for the power. He would have never thought of making friends there, of having pleasant memories. Images flashed before his eyes. A short alchemist with metal limbs yelling at him for making him pay his tab at the restaurant. A giant armor, speaking with a kid's gentle voice, laughing when he got his body back. A blonde woman, scolding his superior for slacking off. A sarcastic voice in the back of his head, commenting his every action. Soldiers more eccentric than he thought was humanly possible. Battles he fought alongside these Amestrians, against what appeared to be immortal enemies, with Lan Fan at his side. _Lan Fan hurt. Lan Fan cutting her own arm. Fu being stabbed, Fu dying. A shattered armor, splayed with blood. Greed lying, Greed being absorbed into death. Pain. Death. Blood. Blood…  
_"Young master!" Ling snapped out of it and looked at Lan Fan in gratitude. Her face softened.  
"Let's go home, young master." He nodded and turned his back to the desert, as the last glimpse of the sun disappeared under dunes of sand.  
It was no time for remembering. He still had things to do. His people's fates were in his hands, and he still hadn't completed his mission. His fingers fiddled with the vial of crimson liquid in his pocket, the one thing that would save his clan.  
Before that, though, they had a much grimmer task to accomplish. He stared at a third horse, aside from the ones he and Lan Fan were riding, which was carrying a body, wrapped in white cloth to cover its condition. Ling's hand contracted into a fist, but he forced them and his lineaments to relax, already hearing the sound of hundreds of voices talking and smelling the scent of dinner being cooked.  
A small but heavy _thing_ flew at him and knocked him off his horse, who neighed and lifted its legs in protest.  
"Ling! Ling, you're back! Are you alright? How was Amestris? Are you tired, was the desert hot? Did you find the Stone, did you find it?" a cheerful boy yelled, sitting on top of the poor prince.  
Ling grunted and shoved the boy away, but he ust chuckled and yelled: "Hey! Okaa-san, everyone! Ling is back!"  
A small crowd immediately gathered, familiar voices and faces welcoming him, asking about the journey and his conditions. The Xingese prince smiled and rubbed the back of his head, all his answers lost in the general chaos.  
He threw a glance at Lan Fan, and when their eyes met they both were thinking the same thing.  
_It's good to be back._

_-_Changing scene, please have patience_-_

"Young prince, stay put, please!"  
"But it hurts!" Ling yelled in the most childish tone he could muster.  
"Young prince, we need to take measures against possible infections you might have contracted in Amestris. Please, you have to understand." a nurse said, holding the most infernal device, feared by both children and adults: a syringe.  
Ling pouted. "I have contracted nothing in Amestris!"  
"Young master, just do it. You have to." Lan Fan's cold order was met with a glare, but soon the teenager understood it was better not to disobey his subordinate. The nurse sighed with relief and quickly stabbed Ling's arm with the syringe, causing the boy to yell loudly and start whining.  
"Have you gotten in contact with anything potentially dangerous, like blood or anything that could have entered your system through direct contact?"  
"No… actually, yes." The Philosopher's Stone. He still remembered _the atrocious pain, his body shaken by convulsions as it fighted against the alien substance. _  
"What, exactly?"  
"Blood." Ling answered quickly, not feeling in the mood to explain everything. Lan Fan raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything: he wasn't lying, after all. The Philosopher's Stone was essentially made with blood.  
The nurse frowned, and took another syringe, literally stabbing the boy a second time.  
"You may go, now, young prince. Give your family my regards."  
"Yes, yes, thanks." He muttered, still irritated at her for stabbing him. He waited for the voice in his head to mock him and his ridiculous behavior, but when nothing came he remembered. _Greed was dead. He was dead. Dead. Dea-  
_"Young master. Are you alright?" Ling stopped breathing, remembering where he was and what was he doing. He looked at Lan Fan in gratitude for a second time, and slowly released his breath.  
"Yes." She smiled softly and started walking again, followed by a Ling who desperately tried _not_ to think of what awaited him…

-Yet another scene change-

"Liiiiiiiiiiiiingggg!" the small child that knocked him down previously seemed intent on repeating his actions every time he saw the prince.  
The young noble groaned again and pushed him away for a second time. "Yè." He said, while the child bowed deeply, with an ever-lasting smile on his face. Ling raised an eyebrow at his half-brother's behavior.  
"You found it! You're going to be Emperor, right? Okaa-san says I should be respectful to the Emperor!" he grinned. Ling muttered something about not throwing down the Emperor, but rubbed Yè's hair, heading towards the dining hall.  
Said room was full of people sitting on comfortable cushions, around a low table full of fresh food. Ling chuckled, thinking that a certain alchemist would be happy to not have to pay his tab...  
"Ling, okaeri nasai." his mother said, smiling. He nodded and took place.  
"How was your journey?" Storytelling time, huh? The door opened, thankfully interrupting his answer, and everyone stared at Lan Fan.  
As expected, she had come to the dinner in her usual armor, minus the mask, and awkwardly took place beside her master, cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment.  
"Ah, Lan Fan. Welcome." Ling mother smiled, making the girl blush even harder.  
Yè, seemingly decided on assaulting every person entering in a room, throwed his little arms around her and hugged the guard.  
"Lan Fan!" she smiled and rubbed his head, and the boy returned to his seat, smile ever unwavering.  
"Where's Fu?" he asked. The adults in the room looked away, while Ling and Lan Fan lowered their heads at the mention of the elder. A heavy silence hung in the small room that just a moment before was warm and inviting. Yè's smile slowly faded, his eyes becoming lucid.  
"Ling! _Where's Fu?_" he yelled, terrified of already knowing the answer. The prince couldn't look up, couldn't look him in the eyes.  
"Yè…"

-Author's notes-

**Please, tell me if you like it! It taks you about half a second and keeps me going!  
A little note: Yè is "night" in Chinese, just thought you ought to know, and "okaeri nasai" (I don't know if it's really written like that, but that's the pronounciation) means "welcome back home" in Japanese.  
Let's see if you guys guess what the next chapter is gonna be about...**


	2. Ash in the wind

The fire crackled, flames enveloping his body, caressing the flesh of the old warrior who wasn't there anymore, leaving a black trace wherever they went. The brights yellows and reds and oranges shone on the small crowd's faces, highlighting their tears, their grief.  
Yè sobbed loudly and threw his small arms around Ling, who stared at the fire with a solemn expression. Lan Fan tightened her grip on her master's hand, eyes lucid with tears held back.  
When the fire transformed the last bit of flesh into ash, a man stepped forward and collected what remained of the proud warrior in a decorated urn. He muttered a prayer to the gods, to have mercy on the dead person's soul, then, with a quick movement of his arms, threw the ashes in the air.  
Grey dust that once fought, and laughed, and cried, grey dust that once was part of their life, was picked by the wind. Carried by invisible wings, it flew away slowly descending, like dark snow.

Ling checked the Dragon's Pulse, but sensed only a few persons still conscious enough to emit a detectable level of energy. Probably servants, preparing the palace for the next day, then disappearing silently. He put on his trademark yellow jacket, opened the window and jumped down, landing perfectly on his feet.  
Swiftly but silently, he made his way through the garden, then abruptly stopped when he saw the shrine.  
Someone was already there.  
It was Lan Fan, who was smiling sorely, talking at her grandfather's shrine.  
"…I promise I will protect the young master. I won't let you down." She clapped her hands in front of her face, offering a final prayer to the deceased man, then rose and headed towards the guards' quarters.  
Ling slowly walked to the shrine and kneeled before it, having no idea of what to say.  
"Fu… I'm… I'm sorry," he whispered. His voice slowly, but surely, rose in both tone and pitch. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so pathetic! I couldn't even save you… I… I had all that power… all that power… and couldn't save you! All that… I'm so… I'm so…" his voice cringed, and he stopped, words caught in his throat.  
And that night for the first time since Amestris, Ling Yao cried.

Lan Fan frowned, watching the young master sobbing on her grandfather's grave.  
As soon as she had sensed his presence, she had left. She knew he needed to be alone she knew he needed time.  
And because she knew, she stuck her nails in her palms, bit her lips and used all of her self-control to restrain herself from running towards her master. Instead, she watched him as he cried, asking for forgiveness, yelling until his throat was sore and he could take no more, then silently letting his tears fall on the shrine, whispering his pleas, voicing all the grief he had suppressed for so long.  
She bore through that hell, clenching her fists until her knuckles were white, gritting her teeth, for hours and hours, until, when the first rays of the sun were lighting the sky, with a final, choked "forgive me", the master fell asleep.  
Finally releasing her body from its constriction, she ran towards him and gently picked him up, carried him to his quarters and laid him on his bed. He tucked him in his covers, like she would with a small child, and, on a moment's impulse, she caressed his hair. Immediately flushing in embarrassment, even though no one could see her, she quickly exited the room, carefully closing the door behind her.

"Liiinngg! Wake uuuppp!" Yè's cheerful voice woke him from the blankness he was in. When did he go back to his room?  
"Young master, wake up! We'll be late!" Lan Fan brusquely opened the door, scolding him. Ling stared at her, realizing everything that had happened the previous night. He looked at her subordinate full of gratitude – something becoming more and more usual each day. Would he ever stop being in debt with her?  
"Young master! No spacing out."  
Ling laughed out loud. "Wari, wari…" his face suddenly became serious. "Lan Fan". The girl raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.  
"Thank you." She blushed and tried to maintain an oblivious face, making Ling laugh at her futile attempt.  
To save her (and himself) from a potentially embarrassing situation, he got to his feet and motioned for her to get out as he dressed.  
"No yellow jacket!" he heard Yè say from behind the door.

"Young master…"  
"Yes?"  
"We said no yellow jacket." A swollen vein in Lan Fan's forehead suggested great danger to come. Ling sweat dropped.  
"Erm…"  
"You were thinking of talking with the Emperor dressed like this?" Yè nodded at Lan Fan's accuse, making Ling sweat harder.  
"I'm…"  
Luckily, the carriage stopped, announcing their arrive in the Capital.  
As much as the three of them had hoped to have a look at the city before talking with the Emperor, but they had stopped just in front of the Imperial Palace.  
"Whoa. It's so cool!" Yè's eyes wee shining with excitement, and the Yellow Jacket Incident was completely and utterly forgotten while they admiral the residence of the Emperor.  
Tens of guard were lined up in front of the gate, looking as bit as deadly as every homunculi they had met so far. The Palace itself was a behemoth building of red roofs, golden walls and colored mosaics littering the floor. Through the large windows they could see richly dressed nobles walking and servants doing their duties.  
Inside, the Palace was even more intimidating. The floors were covered by thick, hand-sewn carpets and tens – no, _hundreds_ of guards were aligned in front of a large double door, surrounded by golden columns. Compared to this, the Yao residence looked like a peasant's house.  
"Wait for me." Ling ordered to his guard and half-brother, and, taking a deep breath, he walked to one of the guards and introduced himself. The man immediately ran inside the room, and the only thing Ling could see when the heavy doors opened was a stern-looking man sitting on an elevated throne.  
He waited for several minutes, his heart thrusting against his chest like it wanted to get out of it. He fiddled with the small vial in his pocket, the only thing he could offer for his clan.  
The doors finally opened again, and the guard announced: "You may enter, Yao Ling."

-Author's notes-

**Hello, y'all! Hope you liked this chapter. I had so much fun writing it, and I was almost about to cry in certain parts, so it was certainly a pleasure to write this.  
Thank you Dotdotdot for your review! I'm glad you think this story is ama-Xing (you got me laughing really hard). Yes, isn't SotB just great? Still have to catch up, I haven't finished reading it yet, though. Of course I'll continue, here's your next chapter! I hope it meets your expectations :B  
I was not so sure if to include a bit of romance into this, as I'm super-unexperienced in writing these kind of things, but... well'it ended up like this. So I think I'll have to write somewhat of a love story (sigh). No worry, though, I'll try and keep those parts to a minimum!  
"Wari" literally means "my fault" and is an informal manner of saying "sorry" in Japanese.  
Argh, it was so hard stopping it! I may not update this often, but I try to at least have two chapters published, so people can quickly decide if they want to read the story. Next up... well, guess!  
As always, leave a review, it takes you a minimal amount of time and you'll make me very very very very very very very happy! **


	3. Prison

Ling swallowed and slowly took a step towards the man that was his father. As was only natural, in presence of the Emperor, he kept his head low, eyes fixed on his feet. As soon as he was in front of the Emperor, he dropped to his knees and firmly pressed his forehead on the ground.

A long silence followed, as the young prince felt cold eyes examining him, as if they wanted to _measure_ him. He kept quiet, waiting for a signal.

Finally, the question came: "Who are you?" The voice was demanding, that of someone used to being respected. Ling knew the Emperor was perfectly aware of who he was, but answered nevertheless.  
"Yao Ling. His majesty's twelfth son."

"Raise your head, Yao Ling." he ordered. Ling obeyed, and raised his head. His eyes met those of his father, earning quite a few scandalized gasps from the court and a flicker of curiosity in the Emperor's eyes, which was quickly extinguished.

"I'm here to offer a gift to the Emperor." the young prince announced. As if the entire palace didn't know that.

The Emperor's eyes shone again for an instant. Curiosity, mixed with something Ling knew well. Greed.

_Greed joking. Greed helping. Pain. Greed dying. Death. Dea-_

The Emperor rose from his throne, gaining Ling's attention and fortunately interrupting his thoughts.

"Follow me." he ordered, and left without waiting for him. Ling got to his feet and scrambled after his father, following him into what seemed like exaggeratingly luxurious private quarters. The Emperor took place in a seat, and, as there were no others in the room and he didn't feel like kneeling again, Ling opted to stand.

He searched his pocket for the vial of crimson liquid he knew to be there, until his fingers felt the familiar warmth, the pressure of the Stone trying to break its glass cage. He stretched his hand and let the Emperor admire it.

"The Philosopher's Stone." The Emperor said, his eyes shining again with greed. He passed his tongue over his lips, as if wanting to taste it. Should Ling's eyes have been fully open, his father would have noticed a flick of satisfaction in them.

The young prince stepped closer and dropped once more to his knees.

"I have traveled here to offer my gift to the Emperor. This vial contains the secret to immortality." The Emperor tucked his hands in his sleeves and rose, walking up and down the large room, looking down at his son.

"You have proved yourself to be… worthy of consideration, Yao Ling. You are dismissed until further notice." he ordered, waving off the boy.

Ling immediately rose, bowed to the waist and left the room, daringly showing his back to the Emperor. When the behemoth doors of the Throne Hall closed behind him, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Liiiiinnngggg!" Yè flied towards the young prince and knocked him down, again. What was this, a poorly written running gag?

"Oomph." Ling grunted and gently picked the kid up, putting him on his shoulders.

"Your Highness, if you will follow this one…" A servant motioned for the three of them to follow him to what supposedly were their quarters.

"Yè, follow that man, and don't leave Lan Fan's side for a second." Ling ordered, frowning, and ran away without waiting for an answer. As he neared the source of the voices he heard, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Dirty thief! I'll have your hand for that!"

"N-no! P-please I… I did nothing!" A young servant was desperately trying to free her arm from the grasp of a court noble, eyes on the verge of tears.

"Liar! You were in charge of my quarters! Where are all my jewels?"

"I… I don't know! Please, sir, I don't know, I swear!"

"You're a thief and a liar, and the kami know if you're a coward, too! Seems like I'll have to punish you myself!" He unsheathed a short katana, pulling her arm to have a better aim.

_An arm cut off, an acute yell. "Lan Fan!" A severed arm, his subordinate trying to hold back tears of pain. Lan Fan! Lan Fan! Blood. Pain. Suffering. Blood, blood, blood!_

With a gruff yell, Ling leaped towards the man and, in a blurry flash, disarmed him. He grabbed his robe's collar and pulled the arrogant noble towards his face, snarling. He pushed his head away and slammed it violently against the wall, and again, and again, until he was about to lose consciousness. He pulled it again, ready to hit once more, but his arm was restrained by a force behind him. He hissed and tried to break free, but the forced pushed him down with more power.

_Pain! Blood, pain! Screams, suffering! Lan Fan trying to hold back tears of pain. Pain! A severed arm… "I'll have your hand for that!" He unsheathed his short katana, pulling her arm to have a better aim. Lan Fan trying to suppress tears of pain. A severed arm. Blood. Blood, pain, pain!_

He struggled to free himself from what seemed like arms pinning him down, kicking furiously and gasping, but to no avail. He thought he heard a familiar voice calling to him, but he couldn't be certain. Voices in his ears and the ones in his memories were confused, screams, calls, orders, pleas… all of them hit him at once. He struggled harder, his eyes tearing up as he desperately tried to break free.

_"My lord… I'm useless to you now…" "No! Don't do it! Lan Fan!"_

"My lord! My lord, calm down!"

_"Lan Fan!"_

"Lan Fan!" he called out loud, using all of his strength to try and push the unknown force away. "Lan Fan!"

"My lord, please, calm down!"

"Lan Fan…" his voice broke, as tears streamed down his face. _"Lan Fan!"_ "_My lord… I'm useless to you, now." "Lan Fan! No! Don't do it! Lan Fan!"_

A familiar touch pressed his chest to restrain him, gently, but firmly. Slowly, he stopped struggling until, admist the tears, he could recognize Lan Fan's worried face.

"L…Lan Fan…" he sobbed, reaching with his hand to caress her face, as if to make sure she was really there, she was really fine. "Lan Fan…"

"My lord, I'm here, please. Please, calm down." She whispered, taking his hand.

He broke into tears, and the weight restraining him seemed to diminish, as he noticed unknown faces leaving his field of vision.

"Lan Fan, you're… I'm…"

"It's okay. It's okay." She whispered, like she was talking to a scared child. "It's okay, my lord. I'm here."

"Yao Ling." An authoritative voice called, and his attention snapped to its source. A guard, whose differently colored armor suggested a superior rank, was staring down at him. "Come with me." he ordered. Ling swallowed and stared for a moment at Lan Fan. When she slowly nodded, he got to his feet and followed him.

-Please bear with us while we change scene-

Lan Fan looked behind the heavy bars of the castle prison, directly at her master, who stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

_"Lan Fan! L…Lan Fan…" _

How did it happen? She always knew something was off since they returned from Amestris. She didn't know what, or why, but the master seemed to space out from time to time, and his expression in that moment was so pained she would immediately stop him.

But now… she let her eyes off of him for a second, and he had a crisis? Lan Fan clenched her fists until her nails were painfully stuck in her palms. How could she let it happen? She was a failure, for letting him having that… that _attack._

Light footsteps nearing got her attention, and her eyes widened when she recognized the figure, come in the Palace prison himself just to visit the young master.

She bowed as the Emperor of Xing walked calmly to the small cell and looked down upon his son, who in return stared wide-eyed.

"Come with me."

-Author's comments-

**Now, done! This turned out a bit longer than normal, but I'm glad! I didn't expect Ling to have a panic attack so soon, but characters don't obey me, *sigh*. Well, I'm glad he did. it was really emotional writing that, and I hope you people enjoyed it as well :)**

**Now, to the reviews! **

**Dotdotdot: Noo, your stories are cool! Especially JADitCHS, I didn't want it to finish this soon ,O_,O Glad it was up to standard, hope this one is, too :) Well, while I read the manga I called her "Lan Fan", too, but as I knew in Japanes "R" and "L" can be exchanged I called her "Ran Fan", too. "Lan Fan" is cuter, to me, though :)**

**thederpmomments: Glad you like the story! Ling is actually one of my favorite characters and the manga DIDN'T TELL ANYTHING about his return (that is my only complain about FMA), so I decided to write it myself. Yè is Chinese, it means "night". The Japanese word for "night" is "yoru" (in an original story I have a character named "Yoru", in fact). **

**As always, leave a review to keep me happy and going ;)**


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